leaving the alice and koala encounters

(Alice Springs. I was really not this thrilled about it)

Our outback adventure is officially over:-( The last few days in Alice Springs were uneventful, except for our new German friend Paul from the YHA who told us Alice is the murder capital of the world. Nice. Hannah and I flew into Sydney and went to Govinda's for the evening- an all you can eat vegetarian Indian buffet (which we took FULL advantage of) followed by a movie in their crazy theater with futons instead of chairs and you have to take your shoes off. It was a great set up for one of the worst films of all time- some sci-fi thriller with Nicholas Cage which was super creepy but luckily ended by aliens blowing up the world (not even kidding) so we weren't scared anymore when we had to walk back to our hostel at midnight.
We took the train up to Newcastle which turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. Sydney and its surrounds must be one of the loveliest cities in the world- on the train we passed through lots of little water ways and beaches, and through tons of lush vegetation. Newcastle reminds us both of Norwich and we had a good time reminiscing about the uni days we spent there (aww). The fact that it has been overcast or raining the whole time has only reinforced the English feel! It is full of cafes and boutiques and has a very pretty waterfront esplanade. Last night we went to the opening night of a French film festival and were served wine (we are close to Hunter Valley, one of Australia's main vineyard areas) and delicious French cheese. The movie was sweet- and alien free!

We ventured out to the Blackbutt Koala Sanctuary (again, not even kidding) today and got to pet the koalas! It was an interesting little place and they had enclosures for different kinds of ozzy animals. I saw my first wombats! They were HUGE and I really wanted to squeeze one. Maybe next time. Also some emus, walaroos, kangaroos, and a ton of birds- I am almost getting used to the crazy animals around here- but they still make me happy:)

We are going to a chocolate and coffee festival tomorrow (!) and on a wine and cheese tasting tour Monday before we venture further up the coast. Luckily the flooding has subsided and all the roads are supposedly open. It does feel like winter has come though, a big change from the far north a week ago! Coming up on a month that I've been out here- hard to believe that so much time has already gone by!